Devgn praises Gujarat CM

The Social Justice and Empowerment Department of the Government of Gujarat is entrusted with the task of ensuring the all-round development of the Scheduled Castes, Socially and Educationally Backward Classes, minorities, old, destitute, disabled and other marginalized sections of society. These groups together constitute more than seventy percent of the population of the state. By various methods of human development and capability building, it is ensured that these groups participate fully and effectively in the process of social and economic development being undertaken by the State.

Sant Ravidas was a great social reformer and poet of the fifteenth century. In his memory, the Gujarat Government has launched a job-oriented, skill-enhancing scheme for the youth belonging to the Scheduled Castes. This is aimed to empower them financially. They (SC OBC) are also provided with loans (4 % interest) of up to ` 2 million for procuring commercial pilot training and up to ` 1 million for higher education abroad.

A casteless and integrated society was a dream given to the nation by Dr. Ambedkar. Gujarat is working towards achieving a society free of biases and discriminations. It has started an Inter-caste Marriage Assistance Scheme in the memory of Dr. Savita Ambedkar. Under this Scheme, inter-caste couples are given financial assistance of

Rs. 50,000 to help them settle down after marriage. This scheme has also been adopted as a model by other states.

Gujarat is also the only state in the country to have set up a separate and dedicated State Public Enterprise for the rehabilitation of sanitation workers; as early as October, 2001. Further, this corporation is also implementing welfare and housing schemes (colony construction) with sizeable state funding.

There are 145 castes and communities including 31 minority communities in Gujarat which comprise of almost 52% of the population of the State. The physical and financial targets for the all-round development of these backward and vulnerable sections of the society have been consistently achieved over the past one decade. Modern schools have been set up for them with the latest residential and educational facilities. The students in these schools are provided free educational and residential facilities. Gujarat exclusively allots budgetary funds from the state budget for school uniforms and scholarships for students belonging to the marginalized sections of the society.

Housing is one of the major problems for the weaker sections. Among them, the nomadic tribes and de-notified tribes have been homeless for centuries. Gujarat has ensured that thousands of such nomadic families are rehabilitated with better housing. These efforts have been appreciated by various commissions of the Government of India as a role model for other States.

A variety of measures have been taken for bringing the disabled sections into the mainstream. Gujarat has amended The Persons with Disability (PWD) scheme into a simplified and decentralized procedure of providing disability certificates. Reservation has been provided for students with disabilities in various educational institutions. The Government has adopted and notified the list of jobs identified as suitable for the employment of persons with disabilities and has issued the appropriate notifications accordingly. It has issued orders and guidelines for amending the Gujarat Development and Control Regulations (GDCR for the disabled) for better accessibility in public buildings.

Financial and social assistance is also being provided by the State for widows and senior citizens to ensure better standards of life. Thus, Gujarat has adopted the model of economic and social development based on the mantra of ‘Collective Efforts for Inclusive Growth’.

Budget 2012: Benefits for the Marginalized

100 crore proposed for construction of new hostels, equipped with all necessary modern facilities for the students of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and developing castes
Under the scheme of Kunwarbai nu Mameru, a total provision of Rs. 9.65 crore made and assistance doubled from Rs. 5000/- to Rs. 10,000 for girls belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and developing castes
Assistance doubled from ` 5000 to ` 10000 for providing incentives to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and developing castes beneficiaries of mass marriage programs
Provision of Rs. 12.50 crore made for construction of 1000 toilets blocks for disabled students in primary schools. 5 New Kaushalya Varadhan Kendras for the disabled also announced
All old age persons living under poverty line now eligible for Economic Assistance for Aged Persons scheme. Provision of Rs.18.75 crore made.

Article source: http://www.narendramodi.in/32306/

Vehicles of Change: TEAM Van

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Gujarat News

Vehicles of Change: TEAM Van

Mihir Shah

There is a mood of festivity in the air. The compound of Sonasan KM High School is brimming with enthusiasm and laughter of students who have turned up in huge numbers to participate in Anand Mela, the concluding event of the 3-day long Sona Utsav, 2012. A group of youngsters are making colourful rangolis near the entrance of the school compound, as many more keep pouring in. Today, the school will play host to parents, villagers, youngsters and prominent figures from the surrounding areas who will be a part of this cultural extravaganza. The school will also be welcoming a special guest, the all- weather TEAM (Traffic Education Awareness Mobile) Van, Gujarat’s latest innovation in governance!

A National Award winner for innovation in road safety, the TEAM project was conceptualised to go from door to door and educate people on traffic rules and road safety. The project also imparts traffic education to senior school and college students thereby increasing awareness.

To test the feasibility and impact of the project, a pilot project was launched at Panchmahal district in 2010-11. In total, 270 schools and nearly 55,000 students were reached through this unique experiment.

During holidays, the van was deployed at prominent public meeting places and even popular pilgrim centres such as Ambaji and Pavagadh. The project was a success and soon 10 more vans were deployed in districts such as Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and Himmatnagar.

Transparency and quick decision making were integral to the success of the project. Hence, the TEAM project has been implemented at the ground level with the assistance of a society headed by the District Collectors of the respective districts. The society carries out planning, implementation as well as integration of the project. For this purpose, the society coordinates and seeks assistance from local organizations and opinion leaders in the district. Amongst them, a key player is the regional RTO chief who is the driving force behind the project and whose support ensures a smooth implementation of the project in various districts.

Back at the Sonasan KM High School, the principal Mr. PK Patel is delighted that, for the first time, a TEAM Van is visiting his school to impart traffic education. He feels that the TEAM project has been a timely intervention as the number of vehicular accidents is on the rise owing mainly to a lack of traffic education and rash driving. Blaming parents for often ignoring underage driving, he shares a hope that the TEAM Van session will leave a lasting impression on young minds and gear them up for the future.

By this time, the kids have lined up in front of the TEAM Van and are eagerly waiting for the session to begin. At the helm of the interactive session, is a carefully chosen trainer Makansinh Jhala, an MA B.Ed with prior teaching experience. After a grueling interview, he had to undergo an intensive 4-5 day training program under the watchful guidance of master trainer Amit Khatri, an expert on road safety. It was here that he was introduced to the various nuances of road safety and traffic education training. Post training, he was deputed to Sabarkantha district and now visits two schools everyday to educate the next generation on road safety. Supporting him during the training session is a sound technical setup consisting of a laptop, speakers, amplifier, LCD, projector and a generator.

Trainer Jhala begins the training module by narrating some real examples related to road safety and soon progresses to sharing rules and tips regarding traffic awareness with the aid of case studies. He constantly attempts to interact and build a rapport with the students and ensures that he is always communicating in a simple, lucid manner. The students are engrossed as the session progresses and pay special attention to short films on road safety that are being shown. Most of the films have children as protagonists and the young students can instantly connect to the characters of the film and draw lessons. Ending the audio-visual session is a Sanedo, a form of Gujarati folk music containing couplets of four lines, on road- safety and traffic awareness which with a touch of humour covers topics such as traffic rules, signals, helmets, zebra crossing, etc. What follows is a large roar of applause thanking the TEAM trainer for a thoroughly informative, entertaining and enlightening interaction.

Newly elected sarpanch of the village, Mr. Pankaj Parmar is elated and notes that the TEAM Van’s session has truly been an inspiring one and an eye opener for not just the younger generation but for several other villages’ folk as well.

Since the invention of the modern car, vehicles have been responsible for speedy transportation of people and goods, and have facilitated the quick exchange of ideas. Today, this very invention has become instrumental in ushering a marked change in public welfare delivery. Good governance is when government’s efforts reach the last mile, thus ensuring last mile governance. TEAM Van has succeeded in this regard.

Article source: http://www.narendramodi.in/vehicles-of-change-team-van/

ITI’s: Hubs of Skill Development

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Gujarat News

ITI’s

Hubs of Skill Development

Gujarat’s progress in the fields of agriculture, industry and infrastructure has been often talked about. To reap the fruits of this success, Gujarat has envisioned empowering the youth by imparting professional skills. ITIs are one such means of providing quality vocational training and skill enhancement. In this Yuva Shakti Year, the 150th birth Anniversary year of Swami Vivekananda, the Chief Minister NarendraModi, shared a formula for success with the youth – ‘ Skill + Will + Zeal = Win’.

Industrialists and educationists around the world share this view. At the India economic summit recently held in Mumbai, they expressed their concern over the lack of commitment towards industrial training programs in India. They advised both the public and private sectors in India to have more vocational training programs, which would improve the skill sets of the youth and solve the country’s problem of unemployment.

Gujarat has already taken note of this fact and taken several strides in the field of vocational training through Industrial Training Institute (ITIs) to meet the rising aspirations of the Gujarati youth. By providing vocational training, these ITIs redefine progress and encourage continuous development of skill. Additionally, fundamental parameters of development such as physical quotient, intelligence quotient, emotional quotient, and spiritual quotient are also stressed upon. ITIs offer skill development and training in diverse occupations like instrument repairing, electrical repairing, fitting, plumbing, diesel mechanic work, IT computer hardware, etc for those with different interests and aptitudes. Thus, ITIs provide the youth an opportunity to earn a decent livelihood by opting for an alternate academic system.

In India, vocational education is often looked down upon and a graduation degree is always the preferred option. This in turn has led to a catch-22 situation where on one hand scores of unemployed graduates seek work and on the other there is a huge shortage of skilled labour. Keeping this dilemma in mind, the ITIs in Gujarat have been revamped and the infrastructure modernized with a corporate touch. This has resulted in more students looking at ITIs as a viable option. Mr. R. J. Kaila, Principal class 2, ITI Gandhinagar concurs, “Earlier students were not ready to study in ITIs and considered vocational training as the last option but now the trend is changing and students are consider it as an attractive option.”

Another positive trend is that among the 1,00,000 who received training under the Swami Vivekananda KaushalyaVardhan Kendra, 70% were women showcasing Gujarat’s success in the field of women empowerment. In addition to providing campus interviews and job placement facilities, the state has now also started demand-driven courses like call centre training, hotel management, motor driving, etc in several areas. Statistics testify the success achieved. In 2001, the state had a total of 81,925 seats for ITIs. This witnessed a mighty jump and in 2011 government and self-dependent ITIs had 1,24,098 seats, skill development centres had 2 lakh seats and 174 vocational training providers had 31,000 seats. 67,245 women were trained in 2011 as compared to 3390 in 2001. 44,300 candidates from the weaker sections had been trained in 2011-2012 which is again 418% higher than the 2001 figure.

Before ITIs were formed, youngsters who could not study beyond Std-8 or Std-10 faced great difficulties in finding jobs. However, after acquiring training from ITIs, they are not just considered qualified for jobs but as per the new rule of the state government they are also considered equivalent to a Std-12 pass out.

Young workers are also utilising these courses as add-ons to improve their skills and qualifications. This enables them to seek better job opportunities with more responsibilities and better salaries. An increase in the number of small businesses leads to overall economic growth and increased employment opportunities. ITIs offer the students who are in high schools or have just finished this education, practical and occupation-specific training.

Apart from applying to jobs in private and public sectors, ITI qualified youth can set up their own motor, generator, transformer and winding garage shops depending upon the trades they choose. The Army, Navy, Airforce and the paramilitary forces like BSF, CRPF also provide job opportunities for ITI passed candidates. The ITIs are working to create an ecosystem in which the students, job consultants and recruiters have easy access to each other.

In the recent 2012-13 budget of the Government of Gujarat, Finance Minister VajubhaiVala made substantial provisions for the vocational sector. Under this, the labour and employment department has come up with a scheme for imparting training to 4.5 lakh youth. Further provisions to the tune of Rs. 130 crore have been made to establish 10 new ITIs, to construct 50 new buildings for ITIs and upgrade 27 of them. Additionally, the government will provide Rs. 11.60 crore to increase the capacity by 12,780 seats in the present ITIs.

The success of ITIs has not just opened up several employment opportunities for the youth of Gujarat, it has also helped generate a skilled workforce to meet the requirements of the rapidly progressing state.

Article source: http://www.narendramodi.in/iti%E2%80%99s-hubs-of-skill-development/

Noted film actor Ajay Devgan pays courtesy visit to CM

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Gujarat News

Devgan expresses thankfulness for the state government’s cooperation to his solar energy venture in Gujarat

Credits Gujarat’s all-round development to the dynamic leadership of the Chief Minister

Noted Hindi film actor Ajay Devgan paid courtesy visit to Chief Minister Narendra Modi today and expressed thankfulness for the State government’s cooperation to his solar energy venture which is taking place at the solar park at Charanka in Gujarat.

Mr.Devgan credited Gujarat’s all-round development to the dynamic leadership of the Chief Minister. He expressed keenness in expanding his partnership in the State’s development.

During the meet, Chief Minister outlined the success of the State’s latest pilot project for generating solar power by installing solar panels on Narmada canal. Mr. Modi said the State government has undertaken expeditious research in the direction of generating power by putting micro hydro turbine in the flowing water of Narmada.

Mr. Modi added that Narmada canal is the largest irrigation canal in the world and the power can be generated by installing solar panel and micro hydro turbine over it. He expressed desire to take this project ahead on the public-private-partnership bases.

Mr. Devgan expressed desire to partner in this project as well.

Article source: http://www.narendramodi.in/noted-film-actor-ajay-devgan-pays-courtesy-visit-to-cm/